Politics

Wisconsin Capitol's first-floor doors open for first time since 9-11

Tim Koleski of Menomonie looks at the sculpture “Genius of Wisconsin” by Helen Mears. The sculpture is near the Wisconsin Capitol first-floor doors, which reopened Monday after being closed for security reasons since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The doors that stand atop the grand staircases on the first floor of the State Capitol are back in action. Visitors and employees for years were not allowed to use the entrances overlooking E. Washington Ave., King Blvd., W. Washington Ave. and Wisconsin Ave.

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Michael Sears

The doors that stand atop the grand staircases on the first floor of the State Capitol are back in action. Visitors and employees for years were not allowed to use the entrances overlooking E. Washington Ave., King Blvd., W. Washington Ave. and Wisconsin Ave.

Madison — For the first time in more than a dozen years, visitors can enter the Wisconsin Capitol on the level just above the street.

Gov. Scott Walker's administration announced Monday that it was opening the first-floor doors — the second floor in a typical building — that were closed for security reasons after the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 2001.

The move follows the administration's October settlement of a lawsuit by Walker protesters over when and how they can demonstrate in the seat of state government.

Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said opening the doors has been a goal of his since he arrived in his post in January 2011. On Monday, Huebsch walked up the steps of his favorite entrance to the Capitol — the Wisconsin Ave. doors — and directly onto the first floor for the first time since he was serving as a state lawmaker on 9-11.

"Downstairs at the ground level you don't walk into this vista," Huebsch said as he looked up at the massive rotunda. "It's awesome."

From battalions of boys and girls from Wisconsin schools to foreign tourists, the Statehouse sees a half-million visitors a year. Since 2001, they have entered at the street level, known to Capitol workers as the ground level.

Neither the visitors nor employees have been able to enter the doors that stand atop the grand staircases overlooking E. Washington Ave., King Blvd., W. Washington Ave. and Wisconsin Ave.

These entrances open onto what is known as the first floor of the Capitol, the level at which Walker himself has his east wing office.

Most people in the Capitol on Monday morning didn't know yet the move had been made, but word of it drew praise from several of them.

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) called it "high time" that the extra four entrances were given back to the public.

"It was a bit over the top that the little old Madison Legislature was going to be a terrorist target," Grothman said.

The news recalled to Democratic Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) the days when, as a girl growing up a few blocks away from the Capitol, she would explore its hallways alone and look for fossils in the stone walls. Right away, she wanted to try out the entrances she used to take.

"The fact I'm working in this building still blows me away," Sargent said. "You see something different every time you go in."

Walker's opponents still question his administration's commitment to openness.

Like the ground floor, this level of the Capitol continues to see daily protests. In state courts, litigation continues over some citations that were given to demonstrators before the October settlement.

"I laughed out loud reading Secretary Huebsch's claim about Republicans' commitment to open and transparent government," regular protester Bill Dunn said. "That the doors were locked for 12 years speaks volumes about Americans' paranoia and willingness to give up liberty for imagined security."

Huebsch said that with the massive protests at the Statehouse in 2011 over Walker's labor legislation, he put off long-standing plans to open the first-floor doors. At times during that crisis, protesters spent the night in the Statehouse and ground-floor entrances were closed to the public.

Last week's bitter cold held up the reopening for another few days, Huebsch said.

The Capitol now has eight public entrances on the ground floor and four on the first floor.

That will bring challenges. For the last 12 years, a single officer of the Capitol Police could stand on the ground floor at the center of the rotunda and take stock of every entrance to the Capitol. Now, another officer will be needed to see in person or by video monitor whether a threatening suspect is entering the building on the upper floor.

The building's security plan has been updated to adjust for this challenge, Huebsch said.

The first-floor entrances, each framed by four massive stone columns, have a gentle curve that echoes the round anterooms that visitors enter before passing on to the rotunda itself. In the southeast and southwest entrances, neoclassical sculptures of women representing the "Genius of Wisconsin" and "The West" greet citizens.

For more than a decade, the four grand staircases outside the Statehouse were used only by newlywed couples taking photos, joggers and those who preferred the granite treads to park benches.

But on Monday, the stairs were clear of snow and the doors unlocked. After years of disuse, some of the doors appear not to latch properly. But as Huebsch pulled on one, it swung open without a creak.

About Jason Stein

Jason Stein covers the state Capitol and is the author with his colleague Patrick Marley of "More than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin." His work has been recognized by journalism groups such as the American Society of News Editors, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.